Days 3,4,5 - Wenatchee to Spokane

Day 3, Tuesday, May 27
68.4 miles; Wenatchee to Coulee City

Another tough day; Gerry says one of his hardest. It was a great ride along the Columbia River out of Wenatchee to Orondo.But the climb out was brutal - 2000' in about 6 miles. (Susan, I think they took out the 'catch your breath' stretches you talked about.) Here, we're looking down on Kevin and Laura as they're coming up to a hairpin curve. This picture is looking back down from nearly the top; the river is tucked way down there.

Climbing up Stevens Pass the day before, I went through several memorized chapters of Romans (Besides lifting the heart, it helps take the mind off the pain.) Today I sang songs in my head (don't worry, they were all my own voices).

Lunch in the park at Waterville was a welcome and needed break. When we headed east out of town, it turned into miles and miles and miles of up and down, up and down through wheat fields. It was beautiful, but draining. Up and down, up and down...then came a cruel surprise: a four mile drop into Moses Coulee, about halfway to Coulee City. I have renamed it "Cruel Coulee" or "Unjust Coulee". Actually, it's not the drop that's bad, it's the climb back out the other side - over a mile of about 8%. I was gripping my bars so tight that my arms hurt and Gerry ended up straining an inside leg muscle (Yes, we ARE on vacation!!). This is Kevin and Laura just cresting the top. The rest of the ride into Coulee City was up and down, up and down, but we were rewarded with a nice 3-4 mile drop into town where we set up camp for the night. After dinner, Gerry and Kevin walked over a couple blocks for ice cream, Laura read, I found the mats in the tent to be overwhelmingly inviting so I took a 45 minute nap. Gerry did find a few minutes alone with the Lord before bedtime.Day 4, Wednesday, May 28, Coulee City to Davenport
62.9 miles
The gulls from the lake decided it was time to rise and shine at 4:30; too bad I wasn't on the same page with them.

We left the campground about 7:00 and headed off again across the wheat fields - up and down, up and down. (As much as we are truly desiring and appreciating all your prayer, whoever is praying that Irish blessing "May the road rise to meet you...", could you leave that part of it and get on to "may the wind be always at your back"?)
We stopped for a break at Hartline and talked with a farmer (4200+ acres) who was filling his truck. It was interesting to get his perspective about how the fuel prices are affecting farmers.

A few miles from Almira our rear chain snapped. We were glad it happened now while Kevin was with us. Although Steve at Summit Bikes gave me a quick crash course on fixing a chain, it sure would've taken us a lot longer if it would've been just Gerry and me. We were also thankful that it didn't happen on one of the tough climbs.

We bought lunch at Doxie's in Wilbur - we needed fuel. I can't remember the last time I ate at a small town greasy hangout. Gerry said his burger wasn't as good as the 59er Diner at Coles Corner.

Not having any cell service along this whole portion, we borrowed a phone from a lady in the cafe and called a Warmshowers couple in Davenport. They were glad to have us come for the night. (Warmshowers is a bicycling reciprocal hosting organization that we're a part of.) They had a nice little guest room out back, a place for a tent, and were kind enough to even feed us a pasta dinner (fuel for the next day!). Jeramiah (yes, with an 'a') has a cyclery shop where he builds and fixes bicycles, mostly recumbants. It was so enjoyable to spend the evening with them. Thanks you two for your great and relaxed hospitality!

Day 5, May 29, Davenport to Spokane (our 'rest' day)
39.4 miles 302.55 miles to date
We had breakfast at Subway (usually, we make oatmeal over the Jetboil, but we need to get to a store), I can't believe that I ate a chicken sandwich for breakfast!

Today hardly seemed like a ride as we cruised along through Reardan into Spokane. We had only one steep climb at Deep Creek and we grunted through that in short order. At Airway Heights, Kevin and Laura departed our company as they are renting a van to go up north to Sandpoint. They will ride along the Clark Fork down to Thompson Falls then to St. Regis where their truck is parked.

We cruised through downtown Spokane and hit the Centennial Trail at Riverfront Park, which goes within a block of Will's place (Will is our youngest son; he's interning for a structural engineering firm here this summer.). A nice shower, laundry, checking email and updating here has filled the afternoon. Tonight......PIZZA!

Our praises to our God:
-His loving protection on all roads
-Our enjoyable time with Kevin and Laura
-No major body pains
-Endurance for the hard climbs
-No rain...yet
-Great Warmshowers hosts

We have not had cell service until today; hopefully, that will improve from here on out. I'm not sure when we'll be able to post next, but keep checking.

Love to you all, and again, thank you for praying!
Gerry and Pat